Speaker to tackle Mideast violence

By KATE BLAIN- | Comments: 0 | Leave a comment

Notre Dame theology professor Rev. David Burrell, CSC, admits that it sounds "moronic" to speak of peace in the Middle East right now.

Still, that's exactly what the Islamic scholar plans to do: On Sept. 20, he will give "Peacemaking in the Holy Land," the annual Hesburgh alumni lecture at The College of Saint Rose in Albany.

Father Burrell heads the International Study Program in Jerusalem for the University of Notre Dame. From January through May, he spends his time at the Ecumenical Institute for Theological Studies at Tantur, between Jerusalem and Bethlehem.

Violence

For now, he's the only member of the Jerusalem program from Notre Dame to go to Tantur. The situation in the Holy Land is too volatile to send any students to the place where they could once meet both Israeli and Palestinian peers.

"I want to get to the roots of that," Father Burrell said of his talk. He plans to cover the history of Israel and the causes of conflict there.

The speaker noted that a combination of factors make peace a struggle in the Holy Land, including the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the fact that the differing religious traditions that are a source of conflict are also the players that can help to settle it.

Israelis criticized

Many battles aren't sparked by the people, said Father Burrell, but by the government.

"The current Israeli crowd is venial -- they just lie," he remarked. He also characterized Americans as "dumb," believing what they see on television and rarely learning as much as they should about the Middle East's struggles.

"The media do not inform us properly about what's going on," he declared. "Photojournalism is intrinsically misleading; they just care about things that blow up. People are living through it."

On the other hand, he added, news reports don't show the misery of the Palestinian people living in occupied territory.

Peace possible

Father Burrell believes that peace is possible. He lauded a recent advertisement in The New York Times that called for ending the West Bank occupation, dismantling settlements and compensating those who have lost their homes.

"The pathway to peace is one we've got to walk together," he stated. "We've got to talk to our neighbors. The pathway to peace is one of learning from one another."

The speaker is used to giving talks exhorting people to work toward peace in the Holy Land, but said he's eager to give this lecture, "because I hope people will begin to see things [in] a new light."

(The Father Theodore Hesburgh alumni lecture will be held Sept. 20, 7 p.m., at The College of Saint Rose's St. Joseph Hall, 985 Madison Ave., Albany. Admission is free. Call 454-5105. For more information on peacemaking in the Holy Land, speaker Rev. David Burrell recommends the following: www.prairienet.org/cpt/hebron.php, the website of Christian Peacemaker Teams, which works toward nonviolent resolutions to conflict around the world and has a team in Hebron, Palestine; and www.rapprochement.org, the site for the Rapprochement Center in Beit Sahour, a Palestinian community service center promoting peace and justice, reconciliation, advocacy and help for youth.)

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